Obama: U.S. will come down like ‘ton of bricks’ on Iran sanction violators

The United States is committed to enforcing international sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, President Barack Obama said at a news conference with French President Francois Hollande.

“Businesses may be exploring … some possibilities to get in sooner rather than later, if and when there is an actual agreement to be had, but I can tell you that they do so at their own peril right now,” Obama said. “Because we will come down on them like a ton of bricks.”

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Obama: Syria still 'a horrendous situation'

Obama also said the talks with Syria are “far from achieving” their stated goals, but considers diplomacy as the best way to resolve the ongoing conflict, rather than a military solution. But he said the situation remains serious.

“We still have a horrendous situation on the ground in Syria. I don’t think anybody disputes that,” Obama said. “With each passing day, more people inside of Syria are suffering. The state of Syria itself is crumbling …. That is bad for Syria. It is bad for the region. It is bad for global security, because what we know is that there are extremists who have moved into the vacuum in certain areas of Syria and could threaten us over the long term.”